Gunned-down gangster Richie Carberry was about to flee Ireland when a hitman struck, killing him outside his home, the Irish Mirror can reveal.
The 39-year-old was riddled as he was closing the gate of his house at Castlemartin Drive in Bettystown, Co Meath, on November 4.
Now it has emerged the father-of-three had planned to move to Britain after surviving a previous murder attempt.
A source said: “He knew he was a marked man. There were threats to kill him and he wanted out.
“He had just signed for an apartment in Manchester and was ready to move there.
“He had had enough. He didn’t want to live like a hunted man anymore. He had been a player for 10 years.
“The violence surrounding the Drogheda, Co Louth, drug war had escalated and he knew his time was running out. Unfortunately, for him, it did.”
Carberry, originally from Coolock in North Dublin, was seen as a ‘major player’ in the supply of drugs and weapons in the north East, even though he only had minor convictions.
He was allied to one side in the Drogheda feud and there was a failed bid to kill him in March.
He had installed bullet-proof windows at his home to prevent a fresh assassination bid.
The source added: “Carberry was targeted once his killers knew he was back in Ireland. They would have monitored his movements.”
He was hit at least three times by a gunman who sprayed bullets from a machine pistol - another three rounds hit his Audi car.
His wife and daughters tried to help him until paramedics arrived - he was taken to Our Lady of Lourdes hospital in Drogheda, but died an hour later.
It was the second murder in the gang war that kicked off in July 2018.
In August Keith Branigan, 29, was shot dead at a caravan park in Clogherhead, Co Louth.
Both dead men had been on the same side in the feud, and gardai now fear bloody reprisals.
Officers, however, feel they are getting to grips with the warring gangs.
Almost €1.5million worth of drugs and an arsenal of guns were seized on Monday and Tuesday in the area.
